She, along with the other women, made her way to the tomb shortly before sunrise. She went with good intentions. She made this trek in spite of wanting to curl up in a corner and cry. The one she had seen, talked with, and touched now lay sealed in a tomb.
The silence was beyond comprehension. There was something in the air but she could not explain it. Her emotions were raw and seemed beyond being comforted in any way. There was a part of her that was angry with the men who'd followed Jesus. "Follow!" if that is what you want to call it. They followed Him alright. All the way till the authorities had shown up in the garden to arrest Him, then they fled like scared children running into the night. She knew that she needed to forgive them for their actions. Such would be what Jesus would tell her to do, but right now her heart was breaking.
The sky began to gray as morning was pushing back the night. Suddenly it came to her that they had not thought out this mission all the way. Who would move the stone? Who would be there to help them? Were they too late? Was this a wasted effort on their part?
But that all changed as they rounded the path that led to the tomb where Jesus The stone had been moved exposing the entrance to the tomb. "What could this mean?" she thought to herself. "Have the Romans, or perhaps the leaders of the Temple come and stolen the body to desecrate it somehow?" Slowly she entered the tomb only to discover that Jesus was not there.
As she moved outside from the interior of the tomb she was met by two men dressed in garments that seem to have caught the rays of a morning sun....shinning, glimmering, radiant garments. Great fear came upon her and she fell to the ground. Face down, afraid to look upon this scene, she heard both men speak. "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again!"
All her fear just seem to melt away as these words fell upon her ears and her heart. She would lay hold of this message and it would define her for the rest of her life. It would be the fuel that would move her to tell her story to whoever would listen. She was there on what now is known as Easter. She was there for the first one. But He isn't. He rose from the dead and lives forever on high seated at the right hand of His Father.
So come this Sunday morning let it ring out for everyone to hear. "HE IS RISEN!" Let this thought define you. HE IS RISEN! Make these words fill your spirit, heart and soul, HE IS RISEN. And then celebrate like no other.
One last thing............HE IS RISEN!
God on you....
mbb
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